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Sons ot tbe Hmevican IRevolution 



Mcetcrn IReserve Society? 
1893 -- 



THE WESTERN RESERVE SOCIETY 



Sons of the y\^^^Jcan Revolution 




Souvenir commemorative of 



Lexington and Concord Day 



177^^—1893. 



CLEVELAND, OHIO. 




'VaQ'zC] 



" I was born an American, I li 
American. " — Dante/ IVi'hster. 



an American, I shall die an 



" 1 am one of those who hold to the safety which flows from 
honest ancestors and the purity of blood. " — Henry Clay. 

" The citizens of the United States are responsible for the 
greatest trust ever confided to a political society. " — yatnes Mad- 
ison, 17SJ. 

" A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements 
of remote ancestors will never achieve anything to be remem- 
bered with pride by remote descendants. " — Lord Macanlay. 

•' These sought their register among those that were reck- 
oned by genealogy, but it was not found ; therefore were they, 
as polluted, put from the priesthood. " — Nehe»iiah , vii, 64. 

" It would be indeed strange if we should derive pleasure 
from tracing back to the original construction the great monu- 
ments of human design which are scattered over the world, and 
yet be content to remain in ignorance of own origin. " — Presi- 
dent Tyler. 

"The Society of the Sons of the Amercan Revolution ena- 
bles the man of the North and the man of the South to stand on 
the same platform. We shall have an electric current of frater- 
nal interest reaching from the St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande." 
— Admiral D. D. Porter. 




IN EXCHANGE 

JAN 5 - 1915 



XTbe IRational Society. 



In October, 1875, at San Francisco, Cal., a preliminary or- 
ganization of descendants of Revolutionary patriots was effected ; 
the organization of "The Sons of Revolutionary Sires" was com- 
pleted on the Fourth of July, 1876. With the exception of the 
Society of the Cincinnati, this is the oldest organization in America 
with a membership based upon service in the cause of American 
independence. It has maintained a continuous existence until the 
present time, the name being changed, in 1889, that it might join 
in the organization of the National Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution. 

On the last day of 1883, the ''Society of the Sons of the Rev- 
olution" was organized at New York City. This society was 
largely instrumental in providing for the completion of Bartholdi's 
statue of "Liberty" in New York harbor, for the erection of the 
monument to Nathan Hale, Washington's martyr spy, for the suc- 
cess of the centennial celebration of 1889, and of other patriotic 
enterprises. There are allied organizations in Philadelphia, 
Washington City, and a few other places. 

Before long, a movement looking toward a national organiza- 
tion was begun. On the thirtieth of April, 1889, delegates from 
fourteen states met in the "Long Room" of Fraunces's Tavern in 
New York City, the room in which Washington took leave of his 
generals at the close of the Revolution. Unfortunately, 
the New York and Philadelphia societies of the Sons 
of the Revolution declined to send representatives to this 

■' People will not look forward to posterity, wlio novcr InoU 
harkward to their ancestry. " — E<hiui>td Burke. 

"< )iir ancestry, a gallant. Christian race, 
Patterns of every virtue, every ijrace." 

—Co-M/>er. 



meeting. Then and there, the National Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution was organized. Subordi- 
nate to this organization are state societies in California, 
New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Soutli Carolina, Massachu- 
setts, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Minnesota, 
Arkansas, AVisccjnsin, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware, West Virginia, 
Rhode Island, Illinois, New \'ork. District of Columbia, Ne- 
braska, Alabama, Louisiana, Virginia, Maine, Oregon, \Vashing- 
ton and Kansas. 

The list of officers of the National Society. S. A. R.. is as 
follows : 

President (leiieral — General Horace Porter, 15 Broad 
Street, New York Cit\'. 

Honorary Mce Presidents General — Chauncey M. Depew, 
LL.l)., New York City; The Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, Wil- 
mington, Del.; General Bradley T. Johnson, Baltimore, Md. 

Viee Presidents General — Jonathan Trumhull, Norwich, 
Conn. ; CtEneral J. C. Breckinridge, C. S A., \\'ashington City; 
The Hon. Henry M. Shepard, Chicago, III. ; Theodore S. Peck, 
Burlington, Vt. : Paul Revere, Morristown, N. J. 

Secretary General — A. Howard Clark. Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, Washington City. 

Treasurer General — C. A\'. Haskins, 2 Nassau Street, New 
Vork City. 

Registrar General — G. Brown Goode, Washington City. 

Historian General — Henry Hall, New York City. 

Surgeon (h^neral — Aurelius Bowen, M. D., Nebraska. 

Cliaplain General — The Rt. Rew Chas. Edw. Cheney, 
D.D., Chicago, 111. 




proposals for XTlnion. 



In 1892, these two societies, the Sons of the Revolution, 
and the Sons of the American Revolution, differing little in name 
and less in purpose, took measures for union. A joint committee 
formulated a plan of consolidation and a constitution for mutual 
adoption. The report was signed by eleven officers of the Sons 
of the Revolution and by six officers of the Sons of the American 
Revolution. By the proposed consolidation, the latter were to 
accept the name, colors and seal of the Sons of the Revolution, 
and the former were to accept the insignia of the Sons of the 
American Revolution ; the stronger society was willing to give up 
three points of the four for the sake of union. 

The proposed constitution dropped the eligibility clause for 
the membership of "recognized patriots" as contained in the con- 
stitution of the Sons of the American Revolution, and included a 
"collateral succession" copied with immaterial changes from the 
constitution of the New \'ork Sons of the Revolution. The former 
change would prevent the admission of descendants from the 
signers of the association tests of New England, and of the Meck- 
lenberg and other local declarations of independence, from mem- 
bers of committees of safety and from the French allies who 
settled in America after the Revolution ; the latter change reversed 
the practice of the Sons of the American Revolution, namely, to 
accept as members only those of strictly lineal descent. Both 
changes were disagreeable to the stronger society, but both were 
accepted by it, for the sake of union. 

There may be, and there often is, a regard for ancestry which 
nourishes a weak pride — but there is also a moral and philosophi- 
cal respect for our ancestors which elevates the character and 
improves the heart. " — Daniel Webster. 



According to agreement, both national societies met at 
New York on the sixteenth of February, 1S93. i'he Sons of tlie 
American Revolution accepted the report of the joint committee, 
adopted its recommendations and resolved that "when we adjourn, 
it be to meet in joint session with the Sons of the Revolution, to 
carry into effect the recommendations of said report and perfect 
the union of the two societies." To the astonishment of those 
who had taken this action, the Sons of the Revolution presented a 
new plan, which provided for a committee of five, two to be 
chosen by each society, the four so chosen to select a fifth "who 
shall not be a member of either society." Both societies were to 
submit to this committee lists of their members with the credentials 
or applications on which they had been admitted. It was further 

Resolved, That said committee shall examine said credentials 
and applications and shall erase from the list of membership in 
each of said societies the name of any member of whose credentials 
and applications it would not appear that he was entitled to mem- 
bership under the requirements of Article III. of said [new] consti- 
tution." 

Under the operation of this proposed retroactive ox ex post 
facto legislation, the "collaterals" of the Sons of the Revolution 
would remain in full fellowship, while the descendants of the 
"recognized patriots" who had been received by the Sons of the 
American Revolution would necessarily be expelled. Of course, 
the larger society, which had already conceded so much, could not 
admit that there was any way of determining the eligibility of its 
members other than by the constitution under which they had 
been admitted and could not accept the unprecedented proposi- 
tion to expel its members under the provisions of a proposed con- 
stitution. As the Sons of the Revolution adhered to the supple- 
mentary plan, the National Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution adjourned sine die. 




^be ®bio Society. 

The Ohio Society, S. A. R., was organized on the eleventh of 
April, 1889. Its ofificers are : 

President — Judge E. M. Putnam Brister, Newark. 

Vice Presidents — Dr. O. W . Aldrich, Todd B. Galloway, 
and Dr. Elrov M. Avery. 

Corresponding Secretary — The Hon. Joseph P. Smith, State 
Library, Columbus. 

Recording Secretary — The Rev. W. E. Rambo, Lancaster. 

Treasurer — The Rev. Wilson R. Parsons, Worthington. 

Registrar — Col. W. L. Curry, Columbus. 

Executive Committee — The Hon. Lucius B. Wing, Henry K. 
Williams, W. L. Curry, Dr. L. C. Herrick and The Rev. 
W. R. Parsons. 

The Ohio society now numbers about 300 members. It is 
estimated that there are not fewer than ten thousand male 
descendants of the patriots of the Revolution in Ohio. Most of 
these are eligible for membership in the Society of the Sons of 
the American Revolution. Probably as many women are eligible 
for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. 
Each member of the Western Reserve Society is, by virtue of such 
membership, a full member of the state organization. 




^be Mestevn IReserve Society. 



(^n the twenty-second of February, 1892, sixteen gentlemen 
met at the Forest City House, in Cleveland, Ohio, to take steps 
toward the formation of a local branch of the Society of the Sons 
of the American Revolution. Mr. Dudley Baldwin, the son of a 
Revolutionary soldier and a member of the District of Columbia 
Society, S. A. R., was chosen chairman, and Judge Jesse H. Mac- 
Math, secretary. After considerable discussion, chiefly informal, 
Dr. Elroy M. Avery, (a member of the District of Columbia So- 
ciety, S. A. R.), Prof. Charles F. Olney, Mr. Charles 1). Camp- 
bell (a member of the Ohio Society, S. A. R.), and Judge Mac- 
Math were constituted a committee to draft a constitution and 
to secure the necessary authority for the proposed organization. 

On the fifth of May, 1892, and after much correspondence, 
the chairman of this committee met the meiubers of the executive 
committee (jf the Ohio Society, S. A. R., in the state library at 
Cohuubus. The result of this conference was the adoption, by the 
executive committee, of the following: 

Whereas, Elroy M. Avery and others of the City of Cleveland, State of 
Ohio, are desirous of forming a local organization subordinate to the Ohio Society 
of the Sons of the American Revolution, to lie known as the Western Reserve 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution ; and 

Whereas, They have duly made application to the Ohio Society for 
authority to organize; now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, by the Executive Co7iwnttec of ilw Ohio Socitiv 0/ the Sons 0/ the 
A>?ieriiaii Rd'oliition^ that Elroy M. Avery and others of the City of Cleveland, 

" Tliis nalKin umlcr dud, ^liall lias'i; a new hiilliol freedom." 
— A/>rati(iiii LiiHotii. 

'• Every society like this of the Sons of the .American Revo- 
lution is a seminary of patriotism. To belong to it is a liberal 
education for liberty." — CItatincey M. De/>ew. 



Ohio, be and they are hereliy aiilhoiized to organize a local society of the Sons of 
the American Revolution, to be known as the Western Reserve Society of the Sons 
of the American Revolution ; that said Western Reserve Society shall have ex- 
clusive primary jurisdiction with respect to the election and initiation of members 
in the counties of Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Lake, Cleauga, TrumljuU, Portage, 
Summit, Medina, Lorain, Ashland, Huron, and Erie in said state of Ohio; that 
said Western Reserve Society shall pay on or before the ist of April in each and 
every year to the treasurer of the Ohio Society, S. A. R., a fee of one dollar and 
twenty-five cents for every member in good standing of said Western Reserve 
Society ; that all members of said Western Reserve Society in good standing, 
shall be members of the Ohio Society ; and that Elroy M. Avery is hereby chosen 
first President of the Western Reserve Society. 

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of a resolution adopted by 
the executive committee of the Ohio Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution at a meeting duly held for that purpose on Thursday, the 5th ot 

May, 1802. ^-,. , 

■' (Signed) Henry A. Williams, 

Columbus, Ohio, May 6th, 1S92. Secretary. 

In addition to the tliree "Sons" already designated as such, 
three others were fotind within the jurisdiction of the proposed or- 
ganization, viz., Elbert H. Baker of Cleveland, a member of the 
District of Columbia Society, the Hon. Gideon T. Stewart, of 
Norwalk, and Frederick C. Bryan of Akron, members of the Ohio 
Society. These gave in their allegiance to thp Western Reserve 
Society. The work of tracing pedigrees and proving Revolutionary 
service went on slowly, but continuously, until seventeen others 
had been accepted as members by the Ohio and the National So- 
cieties. 

On the twenty-third of December, 1892, the Western Reserve 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution was formally or- 
ganized at the Hollenden Hotel, in Cleveland, with twenty-three 
charter members. 

Congratulatory telegrams were received from General Horace 
Porter of New York, the president-general, S. A. R.; Colonel 
A. S. Htibbard of San Francisco, an honorary past president- 
general, S. A. R.; Joseph C. Breckenridge, a vice president- 
general, S. .\. R, and inspector-general of the United States 
army; Paul Revere of Morristown, N. J., a vice president-general, 
S. A. R., and a namesake of his famous great-grandfather; 

" All honor to the brave. 
Who in the cause of freedom fought. 
Who could not be a tory knave. 
Or by the British bought. " 



A. Howard Clark, secretary-general, S. A. R., and from General 
x\. W. Greely, president of the District of Columbia Society, 
S. A. R., and chief signal ofificer of the United States army. 

The constitution submitted by the committee was adopted and 
officers elected as follows : 

President — Elroy McKendree Avery. 

]'ice Presidents — Liberty Emery Holden and Dudley 
Bald\vin. 

Secretary — William Thomas Wiswall, S Bolivar Street, 
Cleveland, (). 

Treasurer — Elbert Hall Baker. 

Registrar — Daniel Wilbert Manchester, 204 Superior St. 

Historian — Charles Fayette Olney.. 

Board of Managers — The officers named and Richard Chap- 
pell Parsons, Jacob Bishop Perkins, Thomas Spencer Knight, 
Charles Franklin Thwing, Noadiah Potter Bowler, Gideon 
Tabor Stewart. 

The executive committee consists of the president and Com- 
patriots Holden, Wiswall, Baker and Manchester. 

In addition to the officers and managers above named, the 
charter members are Charles Davidson Campbell, Judge Jesse H. 
MacMath, James M. Richardson, John Trenmor Morton, Addison 
John Farrand, William Henry \^.\\ Tine and Hermon Alfred 
Kelley, all of Cleveland, Frederick Carlos Bryan, of Akron, Joseph 
W. Hubbard, of Kenilworth, and William Richardson, now of 
AVichita, Kas. 




Zhc Unsiqnia. 



The cross of The Sons of the American Revolution is of 
silver, with four arms and eight points, similar in size and appear- 
ance to the Chevalier's cross of the Legion of Honor of France — 
a fitting recognition of French aid to the cause of American inde- 
pendence. The arms are of white enamel, the center a gold 
medallion with a bust of Washington, in profile, within a ribbon of 
blue enamel on which in gold letters is the legend, Libertas et 
Patria, the motto of the order. A laurel wreath in green enamel 
encircles the medallion, midway between it and the points of the 
cross. The reverse is like the obverse, except that the medallion 
bears the figure of a " Minute Man," and is surrounded by a rib- 
bon of blue enamel upon which are inscribed in letters of gold 
the words: Sons of the American Revolution. The cross is 
surmounted by an eagle in gold or silver. The decoration is to 
be suspended from the left breast or collar by a blue ribbon with 
white edges. Blue and white were the colors of the uniforms of 
Washington's staff officers. The crosses are made by Tiffany and 
Company, New York City, and delivered only upon the written 
order of the registrar-general. Such orders may be obtained by 
members through the registrars of their respective societies. The 
national number of the member is engraved on each cross. 

The rosette is of silk ribbon, blue and white, and is to be worn 
in the upper left button hole of the coat, at will, except when the 
cross is in use. Rosettes may be had at any time from the secre- 
tary of the local society. 

All certificates of membership are issued by the national 
society. Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Com- 
pany, they are works of art and will be treasured, in years to come, 
as heir-looms of great value. They may be obtained through the 
registrar. 

•■ Vour fiitheis, where :ire they .' " — Zei liariali , i, 



©auobters of tbe Einencan 
IRevolution. 



The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution was organized in Washington City on the eleventh of Octo- 
ber, 1S90. It is a wholly distinct but cordially co-operating 
organization. It already has a large and rapidly increasing 
membership. The late Caroline Scott Harrison, the wife of the 
then president of the United States, was the first president- 
general of the "D. A. R.," and held that ofitice at the time of her 
death. The present officers are as follows: 

President General — Mrs. Adlai E. Ste\ens()N. 

President Presiiiing — Mrs. Wiij.iam D. Cabell. 

Vice President in Charge of Organization- — Mrs. H. V. 

BoYNTON. 

Treasurer General — Mrs. F. W'. Dickins. 
Recording Secretary General — Miss Euoenlv \\'ashix(;ton. 
Corresponding Secretary (general — Mrs. A. Howard Clark. 
Registrars General — Mrs. Rosa Wricht Smith and Mrs. 
Charles Sweet Johnson. 

Surgeon (icneral — Mrs. M. S. Lockwood. 
Historian General — Mrs. Henry F. Blount. 
Chaplain General — Mrs. E. T. Bullock. 
State Regent for Ohio — Mrs. A. Howard Hinkle. 

The headquarters of the National Society of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution are at 1505 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
Washington, I). C. 



" It is a reverend thing to sec :iii ancient castle or Iniilding 
nut in decay, or to see a fair timber tree sound and peifect : how 
much niorf to behold an ancient, noble family which hath stood 
ay. dust the waves and weathers of time.'" — Lord Bntoii. 



Subordinate organizations of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution now exist in the District of Columbia, Arkansas, Cali- 
fornia, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 
North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and 
Wisconsin. 

The " Daughters" maintain an organ of their own. The 
American Monthly Magazine ; terms, two dollars per year; editor, 
Mrs. Ellen Hardin ^Valworth, 19 Union Square, New York City. 



^bc Mcstern IRcscrvc Cbaptcr. 



The Western Reserve Chapter of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution was organized on the 19th of December, 1891. Its 
officers are as follows: 

Regent — Mrs. PLlroy M. Avery, 657 Woodland Hills Avenue. 

Vice Regent — Mrs. F. A. Kendall. 

Corresponding Secretary — Mrs. W. A. Incham, 303 Franklin 
Avenue. 

Recording Secretary — Mrs. H. J. Lee. 

Treasurer — Mrs. P. H. Babcock. 

Registrar — Mrs. George W. Little, 971 Prospect Street. 

Historian — Mrs. G. V. R. Wickham. 

Ma7iaging Board — The above named officers and Mrs. C. F. 
Thwing, Mrs. B. D. Babcock, Mrs. J. C. Hale, Mrs. T. D. 
Crocker, Mrs. J. C. Gibbons, Mrs. C. C. Baldwin. 




©bjcct6 an^ i£lioiLnlit\>. 



The objects of these two societies may be stated thus: 
To unite and promote fellowship among the descendants, and 
to perpetuate the memory of the men and women who, by their 
services or sacrifices during the war of the American Revolution, 
achieved the independence of the American people; to inspire 
among their members and the community at large a more pro- 
found reverence for the principles of the government founded by 
our forefathers; to encourage historical research in relation to the 
American Revolution; to acquire and preserve the records of the 
individual services of Revolutionary patriots, and documents, 
relics, and landmarks connected with that war; to mark the scenes 
of the Revolution by appropriate memorials; to celebrate the anni- 
versaries of the prominent events of that war; to maintain and 
extend the institutions of American freedom; and to carry out the 
injunctions of Washington in his farewell address to the American 
people. 

The constitutional requirements for membership in the Sons 
of the American Revolution are as follows: 

Any man who is above the age of twenty-one years, and who has a proved 
lineal descent from an ancestor who, with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid 
to the cause of American independence, as a soldier or seaman, or a civil officer in 
one of the several colonies or states, or of the United Colonies or the United 
States, or Vermont, or as a recognized patriot, is eligible for membership in this 
society. 

Every descendant of a Revolutionary patriot, who is of good 
character and reputation and approves the objects above rehearsed, 
may find a welcome in these societies — and should seek it. The 
registrar will be glad to assist in proving Revolutionary service. 




1776. 



Sbc H)a^ Mc Celcbvate. 



{Copyright, 1893, Elroy M. Avery.) 



In an important sense, the history of the United States of 
America was begun on the Plains of Abraham, above ()uebec, and, 
in the opinion of John Fiske, "the triumph of Wolfe marks the 
greatest turning point as yet discernible in modern history." l>ut 
moral causes lie at the root of the greatness of nations, and the 
spirit that possessed our Revolutionary ancestors lay dormant in 
in the principles of the first New England Pilgrims and Puritans. 
We have the assurance of a tory historian, that the American 
colonists really aimed at indepencience from the beginning. 

It is generally said that the American Revolution was begun 
in 1763, when the British ministry resolved to wring a revenue 
from the colonies. In fact, the beginning was made on English 
soil before the colony of Massachusetts Bay was planted. The 
once almost universal notion that Lexington and Concord and the 
Fourth of July were born of the stamp act is giving way to the 
more adequate conception of the continued development of forces 
that had become discernible in England in the time of the Tudors 
and that began to blossom in the New World with W'inthrop's 
coming. Greenwood and Penry were forerunners of Otis and 
Hancock, and the Mayflower compact was a stepping-stone to the 
declaration of independence. 



In July, 1774, Admiral Graves sailed into Boston Harbor and 

British transports soon followed with new regiments of red-coated 

soldiery. 

"Alas, for the mother's ways ! 
She sowed the dragon's teeth 
And quick up sprung the spears, 

The iron spears of death, 
With iron hearts beneath, 

And the war-storm's angry breath." 

By September, General Gage was building defences across 
Boston Neck and getting barracks ready, and Joseph Warren 
framed the " Suffolk resolves" which were unanimously adopted 
although they declared that " the power but not the justice, the 
vengeance but not the wisdom of Great Britain, which of old per- 
secuted, scourged and exiled our fugitive parents from their 
native shores, now pursue us, their guiltless children, with unre- 
lenting severity," and that "if a boundless extent of continent, 
swarming with millions, will tamely submit to live, move, and 
have their being at the arbitrarv will of a licentious ministry, they 
basely yield to voluntary slavery." 

In October, the provincial congress met at Concord, with 
John Hancock as president, and constituted the now famous com- 
mittee of safety headed by Dr. Warren. Everywhere the minute- 
men were forming into companies. The duty of this committee 
was to "alarm, mtister and cause these companies to be assembled 
with the utmost expedition, and com- 
pletely armed, accoutred, and supplied; 
with such and so many of the militia 
of the province as they sliall judge 
necessary, and at such place and places 
as they shall judge proper." 

In Danvers, the parish deacon be- 
came captain of the minute-men; the 
minister became lieutenant, exhorting 
the zealous sons of liberty, on Sunday, 
to fight bravely for God and country 
and, on Monday, training them for the 
carnal conflict. By the time the Brit- 




ish troops went into winter quarters, John Adams was making 
himself happy by reckoning that Massachuserts could put twenty- 
five thousand men in the field within a week and that New England 
had two hundred thousand men, "not exact soldiers but all used to 
arms." Ames's "Almanack for 1775" made known to every fam- 
ily in New England a method for making gunpowder, and even 
the girls knew how to run bullets. Massachusetts was much like a 
powder magazine that a spark might explode at any moment. 
That spark was not h^ng wanting. 




/■ in. REVERE. 

In February, General Gage sent Colonel Leslie with troops to 
seize cannon at Salem. There were a few bayonet thrusts and a little 
blood letting (claimed to be the first of the war), but Leslie retired 
before "the mob" and without the old French cannon for which 
he had been sent. At the end of March, Gage sent Earl Percy with 
five regiments on a ten mile tramp to Dorchester as if to try the tem- 
per of the people and to get the winter cramps out of his troops. 

On the sixteenth of April, the British transports launched 
their boats and Warren sent Paul Revere to carry the news to 
Adams and Hancock who had gone to Lexington to be beyond 
Gage's reach. On his return to Charlestown, Revere agreed with 



certain gentlemen that if tlie British went out by water they should 
"show two lanthorns in the North Church steeple, — and if by 
land, one, as a signal." The patriots had gathered arms and 
stores at Concord, only twenty miles from Boston. On the 
eighteenth, the signs of the times became unmistakable. William 
Dawes set out by way of the Neck and Roxbury for Concord, and 
Paul Revere rowed across to Charlestown. When the signal 
lights were set in the North Cliurch belfry, Revere began the mid- 
night ride that Longfellow has described with historical inaccuracy 
and made a household tale by his poetic genius. 

The moon was well up when, at half past two in the morning 
of April 19, 1775, the eight hundred red-coats who had crossed 
the Back Bay to Lechmere Point took up their well-watched way 
to Concord. The British commander, Lieutenant Colonel Smith, 
sent back for reinforcements and Gage sent Earl Percy with a 
brigade. Percy started late and took the round-about way by 
Roxbury and Cambridge. When the 
band played its favorite derisive air, 
a precocious or prophetic youngster 
shouted: " You go out to Yankee 
Doodle; you'll come back to Chevy 
Chase." In the meantime, the 
Massachusetts farmers had fired the 
shot heard round the world, and Jo- 
seph Warren had left Boston forever 
with the words: "They have begun 
it; that, either party can do: and we'll 
end it; that, only one can do." 

I>ieutenant-colonel Smith sent 
Major Pitcairn with an advance 
guard to siege the bridges over the 
river at Concord. At daybreak, he 
was met at the little village green in 
front of the meeting-house at Lex- 
ington by Captain John Parker and 

seventy minute-men. 

LExrxcroN. 




Major Pitcairn rushed forward with the order, " Disperse, you 
rebels, disperse! " Without order, sonie one drew trigger, but 
the gun missed fire. Then a few irregular shots were followed by a 
general discharge from the British line. Some of the minute-men 
fell dead; others returned the fire and then the farmer-soldiers broke 
their ranks. Sixty minute-men were no match for six companies 
of royal infantry. With cheers for the victory won, the red-coats 
fired a volley in triumph and hastened forward to Concord, 
eight miles beyond. 

"Thus graciously the war I wage, 
As witnesseth my hand — 

Tom Gage. 

Before Percy left Boston, the yeomen for thirty miles around 
were under way, justifying the name of "minute-men." The 
British were at Concord by early morning but, before their arrival, 




COXCORD. 

the Concord company had been joined by that from IJncoln, the 
next town. Colonel Barret withdrew his minute-men across the 
river; columns of smoke soon told them of the work that was going 
on in their native village. As the minute-men were rapidly gath- 
ering, Colonel Barrett sent a party to dislodge the British guard at 



the bridge. If they were shot at, they were to shoot back. At 
short range, the British fired tliree volleys and killed a few. That 
night, the Concord minister wrote in his diary that he "was very 
uneasy until the fire was returned." Minus a few, the guard 
retreated u])on the main force in the village. The American sol- 
diery, for the first time, had attacked the royal troops — the Rubicon 
had been passed. 

From every cpiarter the minute men poured in like angry bees 
from overturned hives. Lieutenant-colonel Smith saw the imper- 
ative necessity of hurrying back to Boston. Wagons were hastily 
gathered for the wounded, a messenger was sent forward to hurry 
Percy, and the ever-memorable retreat was begun. 

•'You know the rest; in the books you have read 
How the British regulars fired and fled, — 
How the farmers gave them ball for ball 
From behind each fence and farmyard wall. 
Chasing the red-coats down the lane, 
Then crossing the fields to emerge again 
Under the trees at the turn of the road, 
And only pausing to fire and load.'' 







The day was unusually warm and when, about two o'clock, 
tlie fugitives met the tardy Percy just east of Lexington, the 
tongues of the weary men hung from their mouths "like dogs." 
Percy planted his field-pieces to awe the militia, and the eighteen 
hundred halted for needed rest and refreshment. With a renewal 
of the retreat, came renewed attacks. Percy turned northward 
by the road by Charlestown Neck and managed to get his column 
to Bunker Hill. Before morning the British troops were ferried 
from Charlestown to their Boston barracks. 

The story of huw the red-coated column had been driven back 
to Boston sped as on the wind, growing on its way from province 
to province. No fiery cross ever stirred a nation to more eager 
enthusiasm. In obedience to hasty n(;tices from the committee of 
safety, the "Lexington alarm men" poured into Cambridge and 
the siege of Boston was be"un. 



Of the "embattled farmers" of Lexington and Concord, Captain Noah Wiswall and Joshua 
Brooks are represented by lineal descendants in the Western Reserve Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, and Elisha Hutchinson in the Western Reserve Chapter of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution. 

Of those who responded to the "Lexington Alarm," Colonel Stephen Moulton, Captain 
Aaron Richardson, Benjamin Richardson, Elijah Bryan and Abraham Avery are similarly repre- 
sented among the "Sons" and Daniel Hibbard, Elias Buel, Benjamin Cummings, Isaac Copeland, 
Moses Little, David Shaw and James Moore among the " Daughters." The list is probably 
incomplete. 



s. a. iR. 




iip?] 



= 2). H. IR. 

Banquet, 

April 19th, 1893. 



Lexington 



Concord. 



'775- 



CLEVELAND, O. 



riDcnu. 



Olives 



Blue Points 



Consomme Royal 
Radishes 



Salted Aimnnds 



Planked Shad. Point Shirley 
Cucund:)ei"s Parisienne Potatoes 

Roast Filet of Beef with Mushrooms 
Bermuda Potatoes 

Lobster a la Tom (iage 

Claret Punch 

Roast lacksnipe sur Cauajte 
Water Cress 

Chicken Salad 
Crackers and Cheese 



Neapolitan Ice ("ream 

Assorted Cake 



Strawberries 



(^offee 



/ll>U5iC 

BY FAUST'S OPERA HOUSE ORCHESTRA. 

1. Overture. Fra Diavolo. . . Aiihcr. 

2. Selection. Bohemian Girl. . . Balfc. 

3. Spanish Fantasia. La I'alouia. . Missud. 

4. Medley Overture. I'lantation Echoes. . Ross. 



^oacite. 



Music — '' The Star Spani^it-d BaJinrry 

■' (^eor^r ]]\-is/i//io;foi!,'' - - J udck. Henry Clay White. 

■'T/if Sons of the American Revolution,'' Judce E. AI. P. Brister, 

Presiilt-iit of the Ohio Snriely. 

' T/ie Dang/ite/s of the American Revolution ." 
•'■The Editors of t lie American Revolution," 

The Hon. John C. Covert. 

'•The La^vyers of the American Revolution ,'' 

The Hon. Richard C. Parsons. 



Music — ''The Sword of Bunker Hiliy 

' Now and Then,'' _ . - .. M r. James H . Hovt. 

'The Duty of the Hour,"' General Charles H. Crosxenor. 

.\I usic — ••America . ' ' 



ToASTMASTER, Dr. ElROV M. AnEKV. 



JJ)e Singers: 

Miss Marv 1'>rennan, Mr. John (Ireen, 

.Miss Kate Cerlach. .Mr. .\lfrei) Preston, 

Mrs. Paul North, .\1i^. W . C. Howell, 

.Mrs. C, B. Ellinwood, .Mr. C'. B. Ellixwoi id. 



Banquet Committees. 



General: Elroy M. Avery, Mrs. T. D. Crocker, Charles F. 
Olney, Mrs. F. A. Kendall, Jacob B. Perkins, Mrs. B. 
D. Babcock, Elbert H. Baker. 

Invitations: Liberty E. Holden, Mrs. B. D. Babcock, Elbert H. 
Baker. 

Reception: Mrs. T. D. Crocker. Richard C. Parsons, Mrs. B. D. 
Babcock. Mrs. F. A. Kendall, Mrs. J. C. Hale, Mrs. W. 
G. Rose, Mrs. H. \V. Osborn, Mrs. R. A. Castner, Mrs. 
James A. King. 

Music: Charles F. Olney, Mrs. F. A. Kendall. 

Revolutionary Relics: Mrs. M. D. Williams. Mrs. Elroy M. Avery, 
Mrs. John M. Wilcox. Mrs. C. Talbott. Mrs. E. F. 
Johnston. Continental Custodian: Miss Gabrielle Stewart. 

Souvenir: Elroy M. Avery. 





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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




011 801 955 6 II 



